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Google Doodle pays tribute to Moog synthesizer inventor

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Google Doodle paid an intriguing tribute Wednesday to Robert Moog, the American electronic music pioneer who changed the industry in the 1960s with his invention of the Moog Synthesizer.

To celebrate, Google Doodle has created a playable synthesizer logo to honour Moog's May 23 birthday.

Born in 1934 in New York City, Moog became an international sensation in the mid-1960s with the launch of his electronic Moog synthesizer.

For those who are too young to know what that is, the Moog synthesizer's rich, organic sound set a new standard in the music industry after it was first demonstrated in 1967 at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival.

That distinctive sound quickly gained the favour of The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, The Doors and other musical stars of that era.

However, the first commercial breakthrough of a Moog recording came in 1968 when American composer and electronic musician Wendy Carlos released the album "Switched-On Bach."

That recording became one of the highest-selling classical music albums of its era.

Its success also launched a flood of synthesizer records in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Moog died on Aug. 21, 2005 at the age of 71. His death came just four months after Moog had been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Now thanks to Google.com, Moog fans can interact with this playable Google logo and pay their own tribute to this pioneer.